Mississippi casinos could go smoke free with new bill

Neha Soni January 21, 2025
Mississippi casinos could go smoke free with new bill

Mississippi has proposed a bill to end smoking indoors in casinos. Currently, the Magnolia State is one of the 17 states that allow tobacco smoking indoors.

However, House Bill 361, spearheaded by state Rep. Bryant Clark, if passed, could ban this practice for commercial riverboats and brick-and-mortar casinos this year.

Directed to the House Public Health and Human Services Committee, if the bill is passed, it would create the Mississippi Smoke-Free Air Act of 2025.

The state has numerous bars, restaurants and other locations that have adopted local smoke-free ordinances. However, of Mississippi’s six commercial land-based casinos, 20 riverboats, and three tribal casinos, only two are currently smoke-free. These are the Island View Casino Resort’s Beach View Casino in Biloxi and Magnolia Bluffs Casino in Natchez. Moreover, the three tribal casinos are also smoke-free.

This comes following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians eliminated indoor smoking from the Bok Homa Casino in Heidelberg. As did the Silver Star in Philadelphia, and the Golden Moon Hotel & Casino. Rest of the commercial gaming facilities permit smoking on the casino floors.

State Rep. Bryant Clark has said the most effective way of safeguarding public from harmful effects of secondhand smoke exposure is creating smoke-free environments.

According to BRIDGING THE GAP: Status of Smokefree Air in the United States, over 60 percent of Americans enjoy comprehensive smoke-free protections in all public places and workplaces like restaurants and bars. However, only about 30 percent of the population is protected by this smoke-free law in Mississippi.

What has led to the proposed ban?

Several factors have caused officials and legislative bodies to implement a wide-scale smoking in the state. These include Mississippi being one of the 10 “most challenged” states in terms of health outcomes, as per the United Health Foundation’s ‘America’s Health Rankings Annual Report.’ The Magnolia state currently ranks 49th out of 50 overall and 34th for non-smoking regulations.

This proposal for ban comes at an important stage when the state’s casino and gambling industry is one of the fastest growing. Without a smoke-free law, workers are more at risk for secondhand smoke exposure.

Chokwe Antar Lumumba, the mayor of Jackson, has hinted that a commercial casino and resort could soon be brought to the Mississippi capital. This could mean that more workers and patrons might be exposed to secondhand smoke in the future without any new smoking regulations.

Subscribe here to SiGMA’s Top 10 News countdown and SiGMA’s Weekly Newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest iGaming News, and benefit from Subscriber-Only Offers.

Recommended for you